URGENT! My leopard gecko laying eggs

Question
QUESTION: Dear Allexpert,
      I am extremely worried because my one and a half year old leopard gecko has been trying to lay eggs for about a week. I literally saw the egg coming out, but then she just stopped and has been trying to lay them ever since. Her tail is unusually skinny, and I'm wondering if there is anything I can do for her, and if this occasion could do her any damage. Please answer back as soon as possible.
Thanks,
    Bea

ANSWER: Hello Bea,

That is not good.
You can try to help her by soaking her in some warm water, & giving her some oral fluids such as water mixed with a little bit of calcium.
Do you offer her calcium on a regular basis?
Since she is getting thin, she needs some type of nourishment quickly so she can try to lay these eggs.  You could try to get some chicken or turkey baby food into her, if she will take it.
I assume that these are fertile eggs?  
She may be low in calcium which is why she is having trouble laying her eggs, plus, she is a little young to be gravid & might not be quite mature enough to see the egg laying process through.
I consider this an emergency situation.  If she doesn't lay them within the next 48 hours, I highly recommend taking her in to the vet.  Since she is trying to lay them, she is likely to be partially egg bound, or there is some other problem why she can't lay them, etc.
They could give her oxytocin to help promote labor, or they may have to manually by surgery, remove the eggs, etc.

Please let me know how she is doing.

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Right now she is being housed in a forty gallon tank along with my other
female leopard gecko, who is three years old. They seem to get along
fine but I am wondering if I should move my leopard gecko who is
trying to lay the eggs into my spare fifteen gallon cage. Also, I had an
override banana that nobody was going to eat so I mused it up and tried
to feed it to her. She would not eat it, and he only way that I even got a
tiny bit into her was I put some.on her nose.and she licked it. After that
she refused to eat it. I also made sure that her egg laying chambrr is
moist. I am about to soak her in water. Am I doing everything right?

ANSWER: Hello Bea,

Well, if the 2 females get along fine, then there should be no problem in housing them together unless the older one is bullying her.
So, the eggs are infertile then which are sometimes harder to pass than fertile ones, if the hormones are not high enough.
What are the temperatures in the tank?  Do you have them housed on non adhesive shelf liner, tiles, paper towels, or a loose substrate like sand?
Keep trying with some banana & maybe get some chicken or turkey baby food too.
How did the bath go?

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I house them in calcium sand and I don't know the temperature of the
cage. I do know that I have a 26 watt bulb overhead that I keep on for all
the daylight hours. Right after the bath, she immediately went into the
humid box and now her eyes are closed but her head is up, and she has
her legs at a wierd angle. She still hasn't laid any eggs, so I'm still
worried. Should I give her more baths?

Answer
Hello Bea,

Oh boy that could be a problem hon.  She could be impacted which might be affecting her ability to push to lay her eggs.
How long has this been going on for?
I would change the substrate out to paper towels, felt, tiles, or non adhesive shelf liner.  It is much safer.  The calcium based sand hardens when it gets wet, impacting them easily.
Try another bath, if she has not laid in a few hours.
You do need to know the temperature of the tank.  So, I would recommend getting either a temp gun or a digital probe as she needs a basking or warm side of around 88-90 with a cooler end around 80 or so.
She does need an undertank heater as well, to be used in combination with the overhead basking light.  The undertank heater should be on 24/7 while the basking light can be turned off at night.

Let me know how she is doing.  I do think you should try to get her in to see a vet unless she lays here pretty quick.  If she is having this much trouble laying, & she is pushing hard but nothing is happening, it will cause a prolapse.

Tracie